“We are committed to having a university where energy conservation and sustainability are an integral part of the way we do business,” said Dr. Calvin Jamison, vice president of Business Affairs. “Ms. Riha’s appointment is a very strong step toward fulfilling that commitment.”

Riha holds a degree in industrial technology from Texas A&M University. Her career includes more than 20 years’ working for TXU Energy.

A UT Dallas sustainability policy currently under review would commit the University to using resources “in a manner that takes into consideration environmental, social and economic impacts.”

Riha hopes to help the University accomplish its goals by forging alliances among students, faculty and staff members, and energy vendors.

UT Dallas has distributed recycling bins across campus to make it easy for students, staffers and faculty members to reduce waste.

“We are getting the Dining Hall to recycle its cardboard products, which comes to about 500 boxes a day. We estimate this will produce 4 tons of cardboard per month from the Dining Hall alone,” Riha said. “Keith Foreman [director of Dining Services and representative for Chartwells] and Matt Grief [assistant vice president of Student Affairs] are instrumental in achieving this for the University,” she said.

UT Dallas already has introduced a series of green initiatives on campus:

Solar panels power emergency call boxes, the outdoor mass-notification system and pedestrian beacons.

Landscape crews produce all seasonal color from seed in the greenhouse and place the flowers in beds and planters all over campus.

Energy-saving light-emitting diodes (LED) are being used for some outdoor electronic signs. “We are studying the feasibility of replacing current parking lot lighting with LEDs,” Riha added.

The University is participating in Recyclemania, an annual college recycling contest, to help spread awareness of the need to reduce waste. UT Dallas has competed in the last three years, improving its showing each year and culminating in 2009’s 6th place finish nationally in the paper category.

The Student Services Building, set for completion this summer, is expected to be the first LEED platinum-certified building in the UT System.

“It is important to communicate these initiatives as well as the University’s significant sustainability accomplishments to our campus community. Donna Riha is well qualified by her prior experiences and has the prerequisite level of enthusiasm to make this happen,” said Rick Dempsey, associate vice president for Facilities Management.

“These projects demonstrate the University’s desire to promote sustainability,” Riha said. “I want my office to be a clearinghouse for all things green at UT Dallas.”

As of March 17, UT Dallas was in fourth place nationally in one category and second statewide in another in the annual Recyclemania competition.

As UT Dallas enters the home stretch, Alison Beatty, president and founder of the student sustainability group Sustenants, plans to pit one student apartment building against another for a weekend recycling showdown.

The University kicked off its Recyclemania drive in February with a drum circle hosted by members of Onomatopoeia, Students for Environmental Awareness, and Sustenants. An individual recycling program in apartment buildings 61 through 63 has yielded more than 200 pounds of recycled material.

A recycling-bin painting party at the Residence Hall was canceled due to snow, but Beatty said she expects a solid turnout for The Great Recycle Race, set for March 26 in the Phase 8 Clubhouse and in the new Residence Hall.

Freshmen will compete for points by recycling as much as possible as part of the University's final push before Recyclemania ends this weekend.